ST. PETERSBURG -- That Junior Caminero moment on Monday night -- and if you watched Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, you already know exactly which one -- was quite the moment. The Rays’ superstar slugger was poised to make his mark on this postseason. Finally, it happened on this massive October stage.
And oh boy, did Caminero make this his moment.
In the seventh inning of Tampa Bay’s ALCS-sealing 7-3 victory over Cleveland, Caminero slugged his first career playoff home run -- a towering two-run shot off Guardians closer Cade Smith that soared through Tropicana Field and clanged off the left-field foul pole. Up to that point, Smith had thrown 880 splitters without allowing a homer on the pitch. Caminero slowly moved down the first-base line, waiting to make sure it stayed fair, and then let out the type of emotion he’s so often shown during his four-year MLB career.
The show was only beginning for the 23-year-old. Next up was a 38.66-second home run trot that marked the second slowest under Statcast tracking (since 2015) on an undisputed homer/uninterrupted trot, behind only a 40.65-second lap of his own on Sept. 15.
Caminero got to the first-base coach’s box, stopped and beat on his chest. He yelled. He soaked in the cheers of the announced sellout crowd of 40,230. He skipped from first to second. He put his right hand to his right ear as he went from second to third. He pointed to the sky, then added a few more beats of his chest as he headed for home.
Then, Caminero pointed to Randy Arozarena -- the former Rays slugger who now plays for the Mariners and was seated not far behind home plate. Caminero crossed his arms in Arozarena-esque fashion. Finally, he stepped on the plate.
“My guy,” Caminero said. “We played together in ‘23. Randy’s a good guy. I know him. I stopped at home plate, I went like this [arms crossed], and I said, ‘This is for you my guy. Enjoy.’”
Before Caminero even came to the plate, Arozarena yelled from the stands and told his friend and former teammate to hit a home run. And Caminero came through.
“He called it,” Caminero said.
But this moment was so much more than just the interaction between Caminero and a former Rays slugger, one who was part of the most recent Tampa Bay team to reach the World Series in 2020. (That is, before Caminero and this year’s team punched its ticket.)
It was the moment everybody on the Rays had eagerly awaited. Caminero hadn’t homered in any of his 36 postseason plate appearances to that point. It was only a matter of time, right? After all, the slugger hit 42 this season and has 94 already in his career, often hitting them in clutch moments.
So, Caminero’s teammates enjoyed it as much as he did himself, roaring from inside the dugout and the bullpen.
“We were all waiting for his kind of signature moment this postseason. He’s had a couple, but nothing quite like that,” closer Bryan Baker said. “For him to make that swing in that spot, against that caliber of a pitcher, and give us a little bit of a cushion that we ended up needing, I can’t say enough about how special that moment was, man. The Trop was absolutely electric in that moment.”
Even manager Kevin Cash let loose -- much looser than usual, as the 48-year-old skipper typically doesn’t show much emotion during games. This time, it couldn’t be contained.
Once Caminero homered, Cash raised both of his arms in the air, screamed, walked up the steps and dished out a few high-fives. He turned back around and pumped both his fists.
Of course, Cash kept it a bit cooler when asked about the moment later on.
“My thoughts were, I was really excited,” Cash said. “I know Cami had been feeling for it the last couple of days, wanting to come through for his team. Cami's played in a lot of big games, maybe none bigger than these last couple. And he certainly got a pitch off of just a very elite reliever to carry it and hit off the foul pole. I was pumped.”
Before Game 6, Cash had told Caminero to have fun and enjoy the moment. At times during the ALCS, the two-time All-Star looked to be pressing a bit.
It can be quite challenging to deliver on this stage, but Caminero settled in and did so.
“He wants it. One of the hardest things, when you get this deep in the postseason and he hasn’t delivered the homers, especially a young player, it’s how to manage the pressure, how to manage the try. These moments, you want to deliver so badly,” president of baseball operations Erik Neander said. “Easy for me to say. Easy for Cash to say. Impossible to do. But he did it tonight.”
As much as Caminero, Arozarena, the players and even Cash enjoyed this moment, this was to be shared with the fans as well. After the game, Caminero grabbed Tampa Bay’s AL Champions flag and took it to the backstop, before attempting to plant it in the turf. He later yelled, “Tampa, this is for you!”
Caminero’s Rays will now face the Brewers in the World Series. More signature moments could be on the way.
“Amazing,” Caminero said. “I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe it.”